Each name in the following list of naturalists is linked to a corresponding capsule "chrono-biographical" sketch of that individual prepared by the authors. Coverage extends from approximately 1950 backward in time as far as the eighteenth century; figures from all over the world are included (though there is admittedly a decided Anglo-American bias). The target subject here is biogeography, but this being a broad field there are many persons on the list who are better known as climatologists, zoologists, botanists, ecologists, oceanographers, paleontologists, etc.--in other words, who made their main reputations in cognate disciplines.

This service has been set up to support my two Early Classics in Biogeography, Distribution and Diversity Studies websites, and because of this no claims are made of having produced a list of all workers relevant to these studies (in fact, the most famous figures, such as Louis Agassiz, Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin, although listed below, are not covered here inasmuch as satisfactory biographical information on them is easy to find elsewhere on the Web). Note in this context that only those persons who produced works appearing in the "Early Classics...To 1950" list were considered for inclusion below, and therefore that many notable figures whose reputations largely postdate 1950 are not treated. This was simply a concession made to the limited time available to do the work.

My thanks to Western Kentucky University for providing funding that significantly contributed to the completion of this service. Also to David Hall, who collected some additional data for me in 2006. -- C. H. S.

*The sketches produced here were compiled from dozens
of standard paper and electronic reference sources, plus various obituaries
and other analyses. The most important of these are listed in the individual
entries under "For Additional Information"; for a considerable number
of scientists relatively little biographical information is obtainable
(in English, especially), however, and we have been forced to piece together
smaller bits of information gathered from sources such as "Who's Who,"
"American Men and Women of Science," and the occasional website.